


Miss Beverly's Home for Peculiar Children

by all_the_other_ships



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, F/M, Fluff, Gay, M/M, Reddie, Stenbrough, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, benverly - Freeform, missing friends lmao, oh and Georgie's in this one, we got relationships boyyyyyyyy, we got some angst, we got some fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-07-23 23:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20016631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_the_other_ships/pseuds/all_the_other_ships
Summary: Richie, Mike and Ben had had a fairly normal childhood, other than a friend of theirs disappearing in the second grade. But now that Richie has seen a particularly disgusting monster with a taste for blood, the trio gets saved by some strange boys.The Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children x It au no one asked for





	1. Chapter 1

“Aww come on Benny boy. It’s not the end of the world,” Richie said, throwing his arm around his friend’s slumped shoulders.  
Ben huffed out a sigh and just snaked his arm around Richie’s waist in return. He’d been so excited to go to their science class, but then Emaline Martin just had to go and ruin it. She was partnered with Ben for an experiment that day, unbeknownst to the sandy haired boy that she would want to mix chemicals willy nilly that caused an explosion that ruptured all over Ben’s favorite jeans.  
The oreo coloured substance covered the front and sides of his pants, while everyone looked on in pity. His face started to turn pink as the girl next to him had the look of simultaneous amusement and shock. The teacher quickly rushed over to Ben and Emaline, chewing the girl out before sending Ben to the washroom to deal with his mess. Well, it was a mess alright, but the problem was that the chemical compounds reacted to human contact. So that’s how the poor boy had two neon pink handprints on the fronts of his thighs as he walked down the halls with his gangly friend by his side.  
“It kinda is when you go to this school. I’d guess you’d know that Rich” Ben sulked, pulling his arm from Richie and stopping in front of his locker.  
“Ouch Mr.Hanscom, I thought you knew that getting daily beatings and verbal abuse was the best part of being queer!” Richie chuckled, showing off his slime green braces and leaned against the neighbors locker as Ben twisted his lock open. Ben’s face contorted, trying to hide a smile at his friends jokes. He was trying to be sullen goddamnit, but Richie was just trying to lighten the mood.  
Ben smiled as he sucked in a breath “Oh yeah, sounds like a blast my friend”. He lifted his shoulders, visibly trying to shake the tension and stress out of them. “Ah! There he his! There’s my smiley benny boy!” Richie said ruffling Ben’s hair. Ben hit his hand away and they got into a playful hitting match, forgetting that their next class was to start in 3 minutes and it was halfway across the school.  
“GUYS!,” Mike’s booming voice rang down the hallway as he walked towards them quickly. They froze in what they were doing, Ben turning and locking his locker before Mike threw his arms around both of his friend’s shoulders. He started pulling them down the hallway at a brisk pace, Ben struggling to keep his footing, being a good 5 and 6 inches shorter than his friends. “Come on Luke and Leia, we’re gonna be late for english!”  
“Oh then what does that make you Han solo?” Richie dragged his glasses up his slanted nose as the three of them gradually found a pace.  
“Yeah! And you’re Leia Rich” Ben said, his shoulders shaking slightly from giggling.  
“Hey!”  
Mike cracked a smile, just realising that his best friends were with him and he wasn’t just dragging two idiots who were late to class. He squeezed both their shoulders as they continued their now short distance to Ms.Ramona’s room.  
\-----  
The final bell of the day rang, marking the start of summer vacation for the students of Derry high school. The hallways were flooded with students excitedly chattering about their vacation plans, the bowers gang shoving kids out of the way, and our three musketeers happily leaving their english class.  
“We’re finally free! And look at this beauty, all A’s baby!” Richie happily skittered around the busy hallway, waving his report card in his friend’s faces. He always got A’s, the only thing was that he hadn’t had his coffee this morning so his ADHD was kicking his energy into high gear. Mike always brought him a mug of coffee because Richie’s parents couldn’t afford his glasses, plus his brace, plus his adderall so he used caffeine to dull his symptoms.  
But with Mike’s morning being so hectic he didn’t have time to get a cup for Richie and get to school before the first bell and Mike prided himself on nothing if not his punctuality.  
“Good job Rich, you’re totally gonna make valedictorian next year” Ben smiled at his frantic friend as he fell into step beside Mike, both of them agreeing that their A minuses and B’s were perfectly respectable.  
The trio chattered amongst themselves as they stopped by each of their lockers, collecting their remaining books or loose papers before they went to the arcade for their annual “summer kickoff gameoff”. They squeazed their way through the crowd as it dissipated, finally finding themselves by Mike’s locker, that was only a few feet to the door that opened to the parking lot. Mike had convinced his grandad to let him have the truck that used to belong to his dad, so he’d been the groups uber for their junior year and most likely will for their senior year as well.  
Mike had finally pulled down all the polaroids that were stuck up with sticky tack and stuck them carefully in his backpack after forever. In Richie’s loud opinion, he’d taken a million years, that he and Ben were deceased in a ditch somewhere and that Mike was going to have to find new friends. Mike retorted by flicking Richie’s forehead that send him and Ben into a fit of laughter as Richie rubbed the victimed area of skin.  
He was about to spew a retort at Mike and ben’s laughing when a pair of strong hands sent his forward into the concrete floor of the corridor. Mike and Ben’s laughter immediately subsided as Richie’s face connected with the ground, busting a few of his brackets and bloodying up his nose real good. He pushed himself up on his hands that were also scrapped, great, to hear ringing in his ears that filtered out the insults and defenses Mike and Ben were yelling at the Bowers gang.  
Richie felt around on the ground for his glasses, praying they weren’t broken. It would be the sixth time this year that Richie walked through his front door to see ol’ Went and Mags blurry forms that were so concerned about how many times Richie keeps “falling totally on his own by accident”. He found them near his knees and pulled them up onto his cheeks, focusing into the hazy world of Derry high. They weren’t broken thank god, but there was something weird at the other end of the hall that had Richie convinced he had a concussion.  
Through the few straggling students that walked down the hallway, Richie could see a tall, harshly white figure in the tattered remains of a suit, with rows of sharp, grimy teeth. It’s limbs were pointed as if they went through a pencil sharpener the wrong way, and it vaguely reminded Richie of the slenderman video games himself and Ben would scare themselves with at sleepovers when they were ten.  
Richie’s eyes widened as the figure stumbled through his school building, blank face seemingly searching for something. He couldn’t tell if it was blind, or it used smell or whatever, but slenderman’s face turned up, like he smelt Mike’s baking, before it’s head whipped in richie’s direction. Richie trembled in his sneakers, molding himself into the curve of his backpack, before the monster fully turned toward him and started lumbering over.  
Richie flipped from his stomach to sitting on his ass, screaming and kicking himself away from the monster. He stood up quickly and ran directly into Henry Bowers.  
“What are you doING YOU QUE-” He started before Richie shoved past him, barrelling himself into Mike and Ben.  
He nearly tripped over his shoelaces, bracing himself on Mike’s broad shoulders, sputtering and pointing to the white thing that was picking up speed towards the boys.  
“BEN! MIKE! M-MONSTER, LOOK AT IT BEN IT’S SLENDER MAN WE GOTTA-” Richie was screaming, nearly falling down because of his adrenaline.  
“RICHIE! Slow down what mons-” Mike shook the boys shoulders in front of him, trying to get his panic stricken friend to calm down.  
“MONSTER! CAN’T YOU SEE IT! MIKE COME ON WE GOTTA GO!” Richie yelled, pulling on his friends sleeves, trying to pull them towards the door.  
Ben stepped forward, putting a comforting hand on Richie’s pulsating shoulders. “Richie what are you-”  
Then a loud screech ripped through the air, sending the three boys to their knees. They covered their ears and tried to block out the ear-splitting shriek that came from the slender-creature. “WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK” Mike yelled over the noise.  
“IT’S THAT FUCKING MONSTER MIKEY! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE” Richie yelled, still clutching his ears.  
“What do you think they’re on Henry?” One of henry’s goons crooned as they watched the boys freaking out on the floor. “I don’t know, It’s probably some fucking drug their parents gave em’ to knock the queer out of em’ but it ain’t working.” The boys snorted as they shoved each other like dumbasses.  
The trio stood up, leaning on each other and nearly tumbling over in panic. They always followed their philosophy of true until proven otherwise, so if Richie was acting like a crackpot then a fucking shriek erupts from seemingly nowhere, they listen.  
They turned towards the door, ready to run before Mike and Richie hear a yelp behind them. They turn to the empty space that Ben once filled, then whip towards Ben, hovering in midair, or as Richie is screaming that the monster’s got him by his backpack.  
“BEN!” Mike screamed, dropping his bag in the process of leaping up to try to grab onto Ben’s pant leg. “HELP! Oh Shi-HELP GUYS!” Ben spluttered as he writhed in midair, trying to loosen the grip of the invisible tendrils that had locked onto him.  
“RICH YOU CAN SEE IT!! WHAT’S IT DOING!?!” Mike yelled, pulling on Richie’s bicep to snap him out of his shock. His mouth snapped shut, his tongue tangled trying to get the mush in his mouth to form words. He just frantically gestured around and then yelled, “WE GOTTA GET HIM DOWN!”.  
Richie had seen the monster’s pointed limbs clawing around Ben, leaving clawed marks on his pasty flesh. It’s mouth was opening, tongue shooting towards Ben’s face.  
“MIKE, DO SOMETHING!” Richie yelled, shaking Mike’s arm and pointing to their friend, helplessly dangling in the air.  
Mike frantically pulled his backpack off the ground and swung it near Ben, hoping to hit the invisible threat. It hit dead on the sullen creature’s face, and it veered it’s attention towards the two boys on the floor.  
“H-hey ugly!” Mike threatened weakly, “Pick on someone your own size!” he called, trying to keep his voice steady and hoping that this would buy Ben some time.  
“Mike, he’s like seven feet taller than us” Richie deadpanned, eyes still trained on the creature in front of them.  
Mike gulped as Ben quickly fell to the floor, the monster no longer concerned with him. He groaned but quickly recovered and backed away. The monster straightened out, rising to his full height. As if he wasn’t scrapping the ceiling already, his full height forced him to fold half of his body across the ceiling tiles, causing dust and debris to sprinkle over the boys. Mike and Ben were in silent shock, in the not knowing of what was happening. Richie on the other hand had his anxiety filling him to the brim, he could tell the monster was getting ready to pounce. Towering over himself and Mike, staring Richie dead in the face.  
It Happened so quickly. The monster came down on them, limbs pointing in like spears. It was like a more terrifying spider. Richie called out for Mike to duck, jumping to cover him in his stupid moment of loyalty. It didn’t matter. They would both die anyway. Then it would go after Ben and who knows what else.  
Mike quickly pulled up his hands covering his face. But a flash of heat surged through him, escaping through his fingers. Mike opened his eyes and saw flames. He began to hyperventilate, fire had always been something he was afraid of. His parents died in a fire when he was little. He remembered his mom’s kind smile, her words of “you are something extraordinary”, as the memories of his father smashing his fists on his door trying to find Mike amidst the heat clashed.  
He fell backwards, pulling Richie down with him, but the embers got no further away from him. They flew forwards, melting the white flesh off of the slender creature, leaving a shrieking crumpled pile of goo on the floor. Mike pulled his hands back and the flames stopped, his chestnut skin still warm. The smoke and orange light cleared to reveal the remnants of the now visible monster.  
Ben pushed himself off of the floor, pulling the scruffed strap of his backpack up on his shoulder. He walked around the mess and looked at Mike and Richie sprawled across the floor.  
“What the fuck happened” Ben swore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow my tumblr @peach-and-creams


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hi! No time to explain, you guys gotta trust us!" The boy said, feet floating off of the branch our main trio had just crash-landed on.
> 
> "What-" Mike tried to but in, but the curly haired boy butted in.
> 
> "BILL! We hast to hie, these vines won't bear forever!" He called, climbing up the tree quickly. "Come on now boys, we musn't dally!" He said before a hold opened up in the tree behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Thanks for the love with the set up to the story. The updates might not be consistent but I'll try my best to keep! Also, most of the first few chapters are just set up, but the ships come in soon!

\-----

Sweat was beading down Ben’s face. He could hear Richie and Mike panting behind him. The ground blurred below him as he continued running for what seemed like longer than it should have. Next to him, Mike felt a surge of adrenaline and pulled up ahead of his friends. The boys forced their legs to push harder, their feet flying over the stones and leaves that covered the forest floor. A chorus of roars erupted from behind the trio, fear coursing through their veins as the steady pound of their footsteps echoed in their ears. They beat down a zig zag path through the forest, avoiding trunks and tree roots along the way. The mid-afternoon sun beat down on the canopy of green that rested above the boys heads, the sunlight dotting their vision as their sneakers beat against the woodland floor.

Ben and Mike, being a football and basketball player respectively, we’re keeping their pace while Richie, who “wouldn’t touch sports with a ten foot pole”, was trying his best to keep up. He ended up losing stamina 3 minutes into the mad dash for their lives, but even with his slowing momentum, he risked a look over his shoulder.

“THEY’RE NOT SLOWING DOWN” Richie’s scratchy voice cut through the air from the back of the group. His breaths sharp and frantic, eyes scanning the path that’s being created by the white giants brambling after them.

“WELL THEN WE’RE FUCKED” Mike yelled, the flannel tied around his waist warping in the breeze as they hustled through low hanging branches.

The monster that was turned to mush in the boys highschool corridor was just the beginning. When Ben pulled Richie and Mike up from the floor, they dusted off and made quick work of ignoring Henry Bowers and getting to Mike’s truck. They unlocked it and managed to squish their adrenaline and terror induced bodies into Mike’s 1987 chevrolet pickup. They sat together in silence for a few moments before their racing minds could form the frantic words that they yelled at each other, trying to make sense of the situation. Eventually Mike and Richie started yelling about the stories Richie’s dad used to tell them when they were little; stories of white faced monsters and kids with powers. 

When Mike’s parents died and he moved in with his grandad, Richie’s mom and dad were always there for him. When they were nine, Wentworth would tell them what Maggie had dubbed ridiculous fantasies whenever they had sleepovers. Stories that they only remember bits and pieces of now. Bits of two old crackpot scientists, blurry names and pictures that went kept in a shoebox under his bed and streams of “I'll tell you more when you’re older boys”.

“Damn that old bastard” Richie had said, meaning it as a joke but everyone was far too tense to laugh at that point. Mike started the engine, shoulders tense but pulling out of the high school parking lot anyway. Destination, the Tozier residence. Although the mission was a bit delayed; even though there were very few cars in the school parking lot, they all decided to leave at once it seemed, causing some waiting. The car was going at a rising speed when Ben spoke up from the center of the bench seat of the truck.

“What d-did the monster look like Rich?” he asked timidly. The trio had never had such a silence among them before. It was a cross between awkward and painful, Richie and Ben playing with the fabric of their clothing and Mike gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were pale.

Richie fixed his glasses on his nose before answering. “ It looked like,,,like-” He pulled his eyes up to the windshield, where the blue car in front of them had just turned the corner. Taking its place was another monster, possibly a foot taller than the last and wearing tatters of a strange floral print dress. It turned to look at the truck Mike was driving towards the monster, unaware.

“LIKE THAT MIKE TURN!” Richie jumped out of his seat and lunged over Ben to pull at the steering wheel.

“RICHIE-” Mike yelled before they crashed into a pole on the edge of the parking lot. Richie unbuckled everyone’s seat belts in a rush, kicking the passenger door open with his all star shoes, leaping out and scraping his knees in the fall. Mike and Ben followed him suite, pulling Richie off the ground and rushing into the forest that resided behind the school.

The forest had been rumored since their freshman year to be haunted, or home to some weird creatures. There would occasionally be smoke coming from the innards of the forest when it was electric fenced off from every direction except for the school’s when no one had entered, or a tree would be ten feet taller the next morning and countless other seemingly explainable anomalies. When they were sophomores, someone had reported seeing two boys in the forest that morning. One dressed as if he was from a Charles Dickens' book and the other as a scene kid with lead boots. The trio had never believed the rumors until they were being hunted through the woods.

There were at least three behind them, maybe more, Richie’s vision wasn’t exactly 20/20 with his glasses slipping every time his feet hit the ground.

The boys continued, but they thought of it as a lost cause. The forest was fenced in, trying to jump it would take too long or they would get electrocuted. It was a stupid idea to run into the forest, but they were scared and didn’t know where else to go. They ran as much as they could, the chase being around 10 minutes before Mike tripped over a root. He fell fast, thudding his head on the solid earth as Richie and Ben ran past him. They screeched to a halt, turning to see Mike Pushing himself up before collapsing again.

“MIKEY” Ben yelled, starting to move forward to help his friend.

“NO! JUST GO! KEEP RUNNING” Mike yelled, pushing up onto his knees with the monsters about 200 feet away from them and covering ground quickly. 

"There's no way we're leaving you, man!" Richie shouted, sliding down next to Mike, trying to untangle his foot from the tree roots. They both struggled, the anxiety clouding their movements and rendering their motor skills ridiculously unhelpful. Ben was fidgeting behind them, and not knowing what to do he did the first thing that popped into his head.

"HELP! HELP" He cried. the monsters were at 150 feet 

"HELP!". 75 feet.

"HELP!" Richie and Mike cried with him. 45 feet.

Everyone was terrified. Monsterous fangs dripping with saliva were barred as the monsters lumbered towards them. The clothes barely hanging on to the shoulders of the beasts ripped past branches. The boys couldn't feel the knicks and blood weeping down their aching muscles. All they could see was white, and soon black.

"It was nice knowing you guys" Richie trembled.

Then suddenly, a vine snapped diagonally into their view. It creased from the top of an elm tree to the bottom of the next on the path. Then another snap. And a third. A web of mossy tendrils whipped across the path, cascading around tree trunks and locking into place. 

The last vines snatched into place as a boy swing down and landed in the center of the path. The plant web now blocked the path, and this boy appeared. He had golden curls that frizzed and were scathed in dirt. His clothes weren't in much better condition, seeing as how there were seems coming undone and patches of dried mud scattered along his brown wool pants. His shirt looked as though it used to be white, but was either sun-damaged or soaked in a puddle. His suspenders held everything together but were cracking away with the leather boots the boy wore. 

The boy couldn't have been older than them, even with his slim shoulders and tense stance that would indicate otherwise. The boy had his hands held out at the web that had caught the monsters like a glue trap. The vines seemed to be growing thicker as they hung around the beasts.

"Holy shit" Richie called out.

The boy whipped his head around, barely being able to see them over his shoulder. His eyes were deep forest green and his pupils were dilated. The perplexing mix of fear and bravery were strewn across the boys face. 

"BILL GET DOWN HITHER NOW!" The boy called out, a strange accent coating his words.  
The three boys stayed frozen on the ground, a pair of lead boots crashing down into view. The boy that now stood in front of them flashed his blue streaked bangs out of his eyes, flashing his eyebrow piercing. He bent over, kneeling on the dirt with his ripped skinny jeans and looked down at his shoes, loosening the straps. He was wearing a grey hood over his eyes, the body of his sweater grey, in contrast to his sleeves. 

"This is gonna be hella cool guys" The boy said, his blue plaid sweater sleeves hiding his hands. He leapt forward, knocking into Mike and unlocking his boots at the same time. They both flew upwards, Mike grabbing on to Richie's Hawaiin shirt before taking off. Richie in return grabbed Ben's backpack, hoisting him up as well. All four boys were now mid-air, flying as though the scene kid that stood before them only moments before was reversing gravity. 

"GRAB THAT BRANCH!" The kid yelled down at Ben. 

Ben gripped the branch just as it almost past them, the boy curled himself around a spare vine that seemed to expell from the tree magically. 

"Hi! No time to explain, you guys gotta trust us!" The boy said, feet floating off of the branch our main trio had just crash-landed on.

"What-" Mike tried to but in, but the curly haired boy butted in.

"BILL! We hast to hie, these vines won't bear forever!" He called, climbing up the tree quickly. "Come on now boys, we musn't dally!" He said before a hold opened up in the tree behind them.

The three boys got pushed into the hole, and all they could feel was air rushing around them,

All they could see was inky blackness encapsulating them,

And all they could smell was dirt mixed with blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow my tumblr @peach-and-creams


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She jogged across the lawn to the edge of the forest where the boys stood, nodding at Bill and Stan as she approached. They took off towards the house as the girl turned towards Richie, Ben and Mike.  
> She placed her hands on her hips, smiling a toothy smile at them that lit up her face in the frigid air.
> 
> “Hi boys, I’m Beverly, welcome to my home for peculiar boys.”

Loud giggling was heard from all around the pitch black. Richie’s eyes were welded shut behind his thick rimmed glasses. His mind was fuzzy and all he could hear was giggling. The complete dark started to fade away at the edges of his shut eyes, bringing a dusty white light. The light became so overpowering that richie opened his eyes, pupils dilating from the harsh light that now surrounded him.  
He looked to his left, looking for his falling companions. Mike wasn’t to his left.  
He looked to the right, but Ben wasn’t there either.  
“MIKE! BEN! WHERE ARE YOU!” Richie called, the white light flying past him until he could see a patch of green beneath him.  
“OH SHIT!” He yelled, as the artichoke ground grew closer and closer to his dangling sneakers. Richie flailed for a few moments, arms and legs gasping for security, before his speed decreased dramatically and he was floating just above the ground.  
He opened his clenched eyes, looking down across his disheveled body to the ground. His arms unclenched from where he was tucking them so he wouldn’t break his wrists from an impending impact. He touched his grimy sneaker down to the plush green floor, his feet sponging into the grass. As he straightened his posture, he looked around; standing in only a white limitless void with a carpeting of grass.  
“Hello?” He called, looking around frantically. All that returned was a stilted silence, and white noise.  
Christ, I didn’t think Bowers shoved me that hard, I’m going nuts; The boy thought, flipping his hair out of his face with his hand. His curls bounced back against his neck, before a tingling erupted throughout his head. His eyes went all cross eyed and starry, before he heard a whispering.  
‘Oh come now Penny, he couldn’t be a threat to us. He’s old. Past his prime monster hunting as he so dubbed it, and Miss Bev is a child. So are the four boys she’s taking care of, they couldn’t solve this between naptime and diaper changes.’  
‘ Ah yes Martin, but you forget that Wentworth and Jessica escaped. They went and lived lives. They must’ve had children, and powers are multiplied through each generation. We’ll be destroyed if that little fire wielder breeded.’  
“But what about-Richie’  
“What?” Richie said, whipping around. Whoever was talking about some plan said his name.  
“Richie!” Wait no that’s a different voice.  
“RICHIE!” He recognizes that voice, it’s-  
“Richie!” Ben yells as richie shoots out of his trance. He was sitting on a leaky cavern floor, of where he must’ve been lying not moments before. Richie threw a hand to his forehead, a dull headache beat through his ears. His forehead was slick with his moist curls, as his hands were damp as well.  
“You were out for a while bud, are you okay?” Mike bent down and put a hand on Richie’s shoulder. Richie straightened his back, all the bones cracking, and he settled. Richie let out a breath before reassuring his friends he was fine and standing up. He was a little shaky but he was okay.  
The two strange boys were sat on a rock by the opening of the cave, chatting amongst themselves. The curly haired boy sat proper, with his posture correct and his hands in his lap. The other boy laid on the floor, one leg crossing the other with his lead boots back on his feet. The curly haired boy seemed to be talking quite a bit, the other boy had his eyes closed and would move his lips in response every once in a while.  
“Whaths up with them?” Richie lisped, his tongue catching one of his broken brackets.  
“No idea, they wouldn’t tell us anything until you woke up” Mike said, leading the walk over to the two. If the boys saw them approaching they didn’t give any indication.They remained calm looking in their conversation.  
“ay yet georgie wanted us to help him with his paper project” The lewis and clark looking boy said.  
“It’s only making a paper boat, we can do it before dinner or whatever” The scene kid said back.  
“Ahem” Mike cleared his throat. The two boys look up at them. The blond boy stood up, dusting himself off ironically, before putting a hand in front of him to help pull up the boy on the ground. The boy grabbed his hand and lifted himself up with a strange amount of ease from having 30 pound weights on your feet.  
“good day richie, sleep well?” The old timey boy chuckled to himself.  
“Uhh, fine I guess” Richie said awkwardly  
“It’s fine Richie, I did the same thing when I came through the first time” The emo boy sympathized.  
“Came through what?! Can you please explain what’s going on?” Ben asked stubbornly.  
The two boys looked at each other. The blue haired boy shrugged, and shooed the other one away. The curly haired boy went and check the corners of the cave before waving the four boys over. The emo gestured for them to follow.  
As they walked out of the cave into the blue skies and harsh light, Richie sneezed.  
“Bless thou” The curly haired boy said, leading them down a dirt path.  
“So, you guys want an explanation,” The other boy waited for the musketeers sounds of affirmation.  
“I suppose Bev will cover most of it, but that’s later boys. Well, my name’s William, but I go by Bill. This is Stanley, but at the house we just call him Stan.” The boy, Bill, explained. The autumn leaves fell around the boys as they continued down the path, the chilled wind making four out of the five glad they had sweaters.  
“Well, I’m sure you guys can assume something’s up. But I promise it will all be explained, we just halfta get home first” Bill said, smiling warmly at the three despite his deeply clashing exterior.  
Stan shivered up ahead.  
“Excuse me” He smiled cheerfully, before catching up to Stan, his metal boots clinking against the dirt.  
The three boys were left in slightly less confusion, but confusion nonetheless. The cold air, confused them to no end. It had been mid june last time they were outside, but now it had a more late october vibe. Leaves and dead twigs everywhere and their cheeks turning pink from the chill. The two boys up ahead did nothing to help they’re confusion. They watched as Bill took off his sweater and wrapped it around Stan’s shoulders.  
“What do you think, they’re gonna do, kill us? Force us into a renaissance group? Early 2000s music us to death?” Richie jokes.  
“I don’t know, but I feel like I’ve seen that Bill kid before,” Ben said with a thinking look on his face,” Do you remember when we were like in third grade and there was this eleventh grader who would pick his little brother up everyday at the front gate? Remember Georgie? He was our friend and just never came back to school?” Ben said, pulling up buried memories in himself and his friends.  
“Oh shit! Lil’ georgie, does that mean, that’s…” Mike snapped, remembering their old classmate.  
“Big Bill!” Richie remembered the nickname his friends(who included Georgie in third grade), would call the boy who potentially was walking in front of them right now.  
The boys in front of them froze, shoulders rising. They looked at each other before turning around to the three of them. Bill had a surprised but reminiscent look on his face, that was paired with Stan’s curious gaze.  
“So, you guys remember huh?” Bill asked them, dropping his shoulders with a tired look on his face. It somehow made him in a blink of a moment, look older than he was. Like a crease in the fabric of time glitched and gave them a glimpse into a future Bill.  
“Uhm, so that means,” Ben stuttered out, his face flushed from their conversation being overheard.  
“Yeah, I’m Bill Denbrough. Pleasure to re-meet you Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom and Mike Hanlon. Let’s go” Bill said ushering them to continue in silence.  
The three complied, shuffling along in slight shock that the boy in front of them hadn’t aged a day. He was still the emo seventeen year old the three and georgie would poke fun at whenever he came past Derry elementary school.His skin still radiant and smooth, no wrinkles, exempting the slight imprint of crows feet and tired bags around his eyes. His hair ruffled and full, the same shade of strawberry blond at the back of his head as it was when he “disappeared” nine years prior.  
Bill picked at his fingernails, that were shorter than ever. The stress ate away at him of accidentally divulging who he was before Bev explained it to the three boys. He could’ve put them in a tight spot. Mike, Richie and Ben weren’t stupid, if they weren’t in some weird “just crashed in a cave” stupour, they probably would’ve taken off already; putting themselves and everyone around the town in danger.  
Stan noticed the look of unease on Bill’s face, and reached over, pulling at his hand.  
“Come now Bill, thou-I I mean, you couldn’t hide it from t-them forever” Stan said, struggling through his words slightly.  
Bill smiled softly, a light flush coming to his cheeks from the other boys words. He held the other boys hand, squeezing it as a thank you.  
“Thanks Stan. Your modern speak is getting better by the way” He smiled.  
Stan did nothing but looked down, letting his bangs cover his pink tinted face. A giggly smile was left on his face before he recomposed himself, squeezing Bill’s hand in return before dropping their connection.  
“Come on guys! The house is just around the coign-sorry, corner” Stan said, pulling ahead into the brambles of thick brown leaves.  
“Is he serious? Mike asked when Bill made a move to follow Stan into the wall of earth.  
“Completely, come on guys” Bill smiled, disappearing into the vines as well.  
The three looked at each other, before They ventured through the blockade of dead twigs. Pushing through was a hassle, only making it as far as three steps in before Stan yelled back, asking if they were okay. When they didn’t respond, the vines started moving on their own. Creating a clear path for the boys to follow their tour guides.  
Past Stan and Bill, the three could see a glimmering house. Creamy white shutters caked with dirt contrast with the rusty brown troves along the thatching of the roof. It was a two story house, with a turret on the left casting a long shadow across the well maintained lawn. The house itself was a pastel blue, with paintings and spray paint littering the bricks that held the house to the foundation. Their were so many windows coating the outside, with the black roofing curling up at the sides and falling into them. The house had a pipe letting up steam from the inside, setting up the atmosphere to smell like cinnamon and oak trees. The lawn was filled with sports equipment and plants. Trees lining the edges of the property, with bushes and flower bunches coating the corners and nooks.  
The porch that stretched across the exterior of the main floor held three rocking chairs, and a red headed girl sitting on the one on the far right. She wore green overalls with an auburn shirt. Necklaces and bangles adoring her neck and wrists, along with freckles up and down her arms and everywhere visible skin laid. She sat reading a book, not looking up until she heard a twig crunch. She whipped her head to face them and smiled. She stood, stretching her arms over her head and bouncing down the stairs with grace, showing her black army boots contrasting with the green grass. They were a similar style to Bill’s but were made out of leather.  
She jogged across the lawn to the edge of the forest where the boys stood, nodding at Bill and Stan as she approached. They took off towards the house as the girl turned towards Richie, ben and Mike.  
She placed her hands on her hips, smiling a toothy smile at them that lit up her face in the frigid air.  
“Hi boys, I’m Beverly, welcome to my home for peculiar boys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow my tumblr @peach-and-creams


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What year is it now? Is High school as scary as we thought is was going to be? Does Henry still pick on you? What happens to everyone? Do you guys do good at school? Is-” Georgie got cut off by Richie picking him up in the middle and maneuvering him into a piggyback ride.

Chapter 4  
The house was as cozy on the inside as it looked on the outside. The large windows basked the room in natural light, giving it a sense of the late afternoon musk. Bookshelves lined the living room as well as the study with kaleidoscope rugs scattered across the maple wood floor. Plants and flower pots littered the corners of rooms and the windowsills. The kitchen was very late 60s soda pop shoppe looking. The walls and counters were cream, with the black and white checkerboard floor clashing with the fruit bowl on the island. The Dining room was the only other room on the main floor, with a grandfather clock guarding the back corner with a monotone ticking. The long hallway that stretched between the two sides of the home held a wide staircase and a sliding glass door at the end of it. The home smelt of cinnamon and the dried lavender & oak candle from yankee candle, not that Ben had ever dragged Mike and Richie into that store to smell that specific candle.   
It was homey, to say the least, like you stepped into a forgotten dream. As you woke the smells and warm yellow feeling was all you could remember of your nighttime stories. There was a TV hooked up to a dvd player, with small trinkets and crayons splintering the neat-chaos balance of the room by resting on the TV stand. Bev led the boys into the living room just as a flash of golden hair and overalls passed them giggling. Just as they saw it, it was gone, but it left muddy footprints in its wake.  
“GEORGIE! I’m going to kill thou!” Stan yelled from the kitchen, following presumably Georgie from the sliding glass door and in through the house. Stan stomped into the living room, mud covering his face and his shoes gone. He had a dead vine clutched in one hand and an ennerved look creased into his forehead. He dropped the plant into an empty pot and gazed at it for a moment before it started to flourish in the new found soil. A small purple flower broke through the bulb at the end of the vine and Stan let out a sigh.  
He turned to the guests in the living room, as if looking through them. He wormed passed Mike and Ben to see the scattered crayons and toys on the TV stand. He picked up a turtle made out of megablocks and turned towards the empty door frame that could be seen from upon the stairs in the hallway.  
“And clean up your toys! And It’s not my job to find your crayons next time you don’t know where they are Bill!” He called after the boys who were cowering on the top of the stairs landing. Stan marched out of the room and raced up the stairs.   
“So I know you’ve met Stan” Bev chuckled gesturing to the boy who just fled the room.   
“Obviously” Richie said in a chuckle as well.  
“And you’ve met Bill as well. You boys get to meet Eddie and Georgie near supper time, but for now I’m just going to show you around. Follow me” She said kindly, crows feet wrinkling at the corners of her eyes as she gestured for them to follow here through the house.   
The tour was nice. Bev was very kind and understanding of their situation. She asked them to hold all questions until supper, which they were a bit apprehensive of keeping quiet, but they managed. She took a liking to Richie, as he matched her humour with his own quite well. They would keep jokes going until they were cackling to themselves on the cobblestone path that led to the backyard.  
They observed the flowers and tire swing out in the backyard, looking on at the simplicity of it. The backyard was a good size that included a pool and a swing set along with amazing flora and the occasional fauna.  
When they came to the bottom of the stairs Bev had them wait a moment.   
“So, the boys are very particular about their rooms, but they’re filled to the brim with knick knacks and dirty clothes. Lord knows I can’t get Georgie to clean anything so mind the mess” She said as she turned and strode up the first few steps. The boys followed, admiring the pictures and mementos plastered on the walls. Black and white photos of Stan, some polaroids of Bill and a young boy they recognized to be Georgie, some group shots and a portrait of one of the most beautiful boys Richie had ever seen. Bev, Ben and Mike continued up the stairs as Richie paused to admire the picture. The boy had quaffed brown hair that was slicked back behind his ears. They matched well with his wide brown eyes that flecked with darker blacks that added an elusive depth to them. His posture and expression was hoighty and neutral, but you could tell by his sharp jaw and smattering of freckles he held mischief behind his stance. The black frame held a little white paper tucked into the glass that upon further inspection turned out to be chicken scratch writing. Richie peered closer, seeing the phrase “you guys suck” scrawled across the page with a little angry face doodle. He looked to the bottom of the frame that held a gold plaque. The engraving of the photo held the synopsis of the person in the picture. It read:  
“Edward “Eddie” Frank Kaspbrak, beloved son & will be missed”   
“Hey” Richie heard from beside him. He jumped, his glasses hitting against the bridge of his nose hard. He took them off and rubbed his nose before pulling them back onto his face clumsily. The blur in front of him came into focus of the boy in the picture. His brow was creased and eyes interrogating. He was shorter than Richie, and his scrunched nose made him look adorable in the taller boys eyes. His arms were crossed over the yellow shirt he wore.  
“Uhm-Why hello there, Richie Toziers the name, doing voices is my game” Richie stumbled over his words before sticking his hand out in front of him to shake the other boys hand as a punctuation to his statement.   
“Yeah-” The boy said. He took Richie’s index finger and pushed it back towards the raven haired boy. “I know who you are. Stan and Bill already briefed me. I’m Eddie” He said coldly. His gaze never wavered from the rock hard expression that seemed to pierce right through Richie’s soul.  
“What are you doing looking at that” Eddie said, moving to try and block Richie’s view from the picture on the wall. Richie swallowed, only now noticing that along with the yellow t shirt, Eddie was also wearing the shortest red shorts he’d ever seen on a boy before. His face flushed, cracking his head back up to Eddie’s eyes after not so subtly checking him out.   
“I-uhm, I don’t know, I’m sorry” Richie coughed, fixing his glasses on his face as a nervous habit of his.   
Eddie stood for a moment, examining the boy flusteredly cowarded in front of all 5’7 of him. He put a finger under Richie’s chin, forcing him to look at Eddie. Richies cheeks all but burned now. His face inches from this cute boy, a hand under his chin and an irregular set of teenage hormones could do that to him.   
“You’re weird Tozier, nice braces” He said smirking, then flicking his finger out from Richie’s chin and continuing up the stairs. His shorts now in full display for Richie who braced his wobbly knees against the wall. Richie put a hand over his mouth, trying to calm the suffocating blood rush that lay under his skin. He shook himself out of it, leaning on the railing to continue the walk upstairs.   
\----  
Mike, Ben and Bev continued down the hallway. Stepping over dirt piles and around strewn toys. There were 8 doors in total, four on the left and four on the right. The four on the right glowed, light spilling from the open door frames . They had signs on the doors, signs and depictions of the people who dwelled within them. Bev led them to the first door on the left, one that had the sign on the front that had “Georgie” written in messy crayon scrawl. It had dinosaur stickers coating the old wooden panels of the door, where some started to peel but were tacked back on with sticky tack. Bev twisted the door handle, opening it a crack to show the dark room. I was covered with toys and sports equipment and stuffed animals. It reminded Mik and Ben of Georgie’s old room that they would have sleepovers at before he disappeared.  
“It’s nice” Mike said before stepping back to look at Bev.  
“Yeah he likes it” She smiles sadly, staring at the room as Ben continued to scan it.   
Ben moved back to face the two again, but as he backed up he bumped into Bev. She was startled and fell back before she could catch herself. She laughed as Ben turned to see her on the floor. Mike smiled fondly, looking at Ben scramble to help her up, mumbling “I’m sorry” over and over again with his cheeks coated pink.   
“It’s okay Ben, no harm no foul!” She said knocking her elbow against his when she stood up. He looked at her with wide eyes and nodded curtly.   
“I’m still sorry,” he scuffed the tip of his sneaker against the ground.   
Bev shook her head and led the boys further down the hall, Mike nudging Ben when Bev wasn’t looking. He raised his eyebrows suggestively and Ben hit him in the arm.  
\-----  
Stan and Bill’s rooms were nothing special. Stan’s was covered in books and plants, with nothing along the floor except a rug and his wardrobe. His bed was neatly made, with sheets the same light green as his walls. Bill’s had a few posters of bands here and there, with sweaters and various black jeans strewn across his floor. His bed spread was a black and dark blue checkered pattern. He had hair dye on his dressers along with black nail polish that dried in patches on the wood. Both rooms had the lights turned off, light coming through the curtains but ultimately void of anybody. As they pulled themselves out from looking at Bill’s room, Richie caught up to them. He was still a bit red from his encounter earlier, but he looks about as nervous as he usually does otherwise. He threw his arm around Ben’s shoulders, pulling himself into the group and smiling a crooked smile.   
“Y’all are slow as molasses, I was able to get in quite a few chucks back there while you’ve only walked three quarters down the hall” Richie Chuckled, ruffling Ben’s hair beside him.  
“Haha Rich, come on last room is Eddie’s. It’s across from mine but no one ever goes into my room except for me.” Bev laughed humorlessly.  
She led them the last few feet between Bill’s door to the last door on the left of the hallway. Eddie’s door was closed, but had light pooling out of the bottom of the door. Light giggles and screaming could be heard within the paper thin confines of the bedroom walls. Bev rapped her knuckles against the door and waited. The giggling stopped for a moment and they heard shuffling followed by the padding of feet coming to the door. Stanley answered the door, poking his head out of the crack he allowed to be used. His eyes lit up seeing it was Bev, it was obvious how much each of the boys love Beverly.   
“Hello Beverly,” he said, pulling the door open wider to reveal his pressed off white shirt.  
“What brings thou here?” He asked, looking over her shoulder and seeing the three boys behind her. It was almost comical how much shorter Bev was than the boys. She barely scraped by 5’7 while the shortest of the boys stood at 5’8 and three quarters.   
“Why I’m givin the royal tour Staniel! Care to invite us to the party?” She asked, [erring past him to see the other three boys of hers sitting on the carpeted floor.  
Stan turned his head over his shoulder. Asking in a muffled voice to Eddie if he didn’t mind four more people crashing their party. They couldn’t hear the response, but it was assumed to be good as Stan moved out of the door frame to let the visitors in. Eddie’s room was bright. The windows were open and the light reflected against the bland yellow of his walls and gave a glowing feeling to the room. His bed frame was off to the side, the box spring resting easily upon the metal bars, but missing the mattress. The walls were decorated with polaroids and posters of a bunch of 70s singers Richie’s dad talked about occasionally. As for where the mattress was, it was snatched onto the floor along with pillows, blankets and various t shirts. It was made into a makeshift fort that was already halfway to collapsed on its own accord. The three boys stepped into the room awkwardly, the giggling continuing from the fort before Stan closed the door behind them. The loud noise pulled three heads out from the fort with curious glazes. They all smiled and escaped the confines of the fort and stood up. Eddie pulled Georgie up from the mattress with his hand and Georgie’s expression was elated as soon as he saw the boys that just came in.   
“BEN! MIKE! RICHIE!” He yelled and barrelled into them for hugs. The three had sat on the floor, bracing for impact of Georgie Denbrough’s famous hugs. There was lots of squeezing and giggling and “wow you guys are old” coming from the youngest.   
When they pulled away Georgie started annihilating them with questions.   
“What year is it now? Is High school as scary as we thought is was going to be? Does Henry still pick on you? What happens to everyone? Do you guys do good at school? Is-” Georgie got cut off by Richie picking him up in the middle and maneuvering him into a piggyback ride. Georgie giggled.  
“We missed you so much buddy, you wouldn’t believe how many months we pretended you were still around with us” Richie said, tears forming behind his glasses and falling backwards with Georgie into the fort. Mike and Ben came and sat on the fort with them and pulled Georgie into their respective hugs, sharing stories of middle school and a few highschool stories to Gerogie’s request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo! Im glad this story is reaching people, and follow my tumblr @peach-and-creams


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